Posts in Category: news

“He that takes medicine and neglects diet, wastes the skills of the physician” (Chinese proverb) – An audience participatory pop up garden and performance by Wun Thong at the Old Fire Station, Bendigo.

Bendigo is a town saturated in a Chinese culture that dates as far back as the Gold Rush in the 1850’s. It is hard to imagine that there was once approximately 4,000 Chinese in the Bendigo gold fields, since there is only a trace of this history left, in some of the old diggings sites, kilns, brickwork and faded shop signs. But hidden in the back areas of the old cemeteries around Bendigo are foot stones inscribed with Chinese characters, naming the Dynasty and clan name of those who once came to Dai Gum San (Big Gold Mountain) in search of a brighter future.

I arrived in Bendigo funded by Punctum’s ‘Seedpod” grant, with the aim to research and develop a project based around the Chinese history in the area, with particular focus on the Chinese market gardens. As it was my first time in Bendigo, I knew nothing of the local Chinese history; in fact most of the Australian history I did learn at school has been both one sided and unreliable, It is only now through rediscovering and further investigating, we are able to change our once skewed perception of Australian history and shed light onto some truths that have been long buried.

Over a period of two weeks I visited many of the town’s attractions including; the Debrah Mine, Bendigo Tram, Bendigo Joss House and Peppergreen Farm and the Golden Dragon Museum. As well as researching the local history, I collected sounds that were to be used in the project. Submerged in the community I had the wonderful opportunity to meet people with a deep knowledge of the local Chinese history in the area; this included local Chinese elders Dennis O’Hoy and Russell Jack, and Archeologist David Bannear. A days volunteer work at Peppergreen Farm, which was originally a Chinese market garden site. With the help of local sound artist Jaques Soddell I was able to capture sounds of Peppergreen Farm and Bendigo Creek .

The Chinese in Bendigo came from the rural areas of southern China, primarily Guangdong Province. Most of these people were from poor areas and were farmers or artisans. They brought with them their own cultural customs and beliefs, which is evident in Bendigo today, if you visit the many historical sites like the Bendigo Joss House and Bendigo Cemetery. The Golden Dragon Museum also houses the oldest Imperial Dragon in the world, safely in Australia, it survived being destroyed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
It is hard to imagine today that almost 4,000 Chinese were on the fields during the gold rush. Mostly all of the Chinese that came to Bendigo came as sojourners with the intention of going back to their homeland, however some were burdened with debt because of the heavy taxes imposed on them and were unable to afford the trip back home. For those who decided to stay, they were able to make a new home and life in Bendigo, which offered many opportunities and possibilities that may not have been attainable back home. Most of the Chinese that came to Bendigo were men seeking a better future for their families by working on the gold fields. This resulted in interracial marriages and relationships with European women, primarily Scottish and Irish women, who along with the Chinese were treated as inferiors and traitors.

The Chinese have played an important role in Bendigo, raising money for the local hospital through their Easter procession of Loong the imperial dragon and also providing affordable fresh produce to the community of Bendigo and Melbourne at a time when fresh fruit and vegetables were hard to come by. Food is of great importance to the Chinese, who believe that eating good food can bring harmony and closeness to the family and relationships and as the title of the work suggests, it is also important for ones health.

Closed or Open?

Keys have come to signify more than just their function as an object that locks and unlocks. Through representation and association we have constructed metaphors around keys. In superstition they can be the both the bearers of good luck and bad luck; keys have come to represent knowledge, mystery, initiation, curiosity, power, status, ownership and authority. However, the illusion of metaphor does not bring a semblance of truth to the object, we ignore the objects basic function as a key and come to view it on a metaphysical level. We perceive phenomena differently on the left and right side of the brain. The left being analytical, logical and objective, in contrast to the right; thoughtful, intuitive and subjective. In this installation the left speaker plays sounds of locks being closed, while the right speaker plays sounds of locks being opened which symbolises the left and right side of the brain respectively.

I haven’t made a lino cut since highschool and I thought I would give it another go tonight, especially after spending a day working in Illustrator, I found it more effective to make something with my hands. I don’t know what it will turn out like as a print, but I can try that tomorrow.

Anyway making stuff is always good when your feeling down…a friend told me creativity…creation..opens the heart chakra. So hopefully I achieved that tonight because I really feel like I need that one open right now!

Friday night at home. I’m having a jam with myself because there is no one else to jam with. I set up all my contact mic instruments and objects and recorded over the top of each other on seperate tracks. It is not perfect because it is unedited, but it was more of an experiment than anything. Most of the objects I am playing make sounds by chance or one off sounds that are unlikely to be repeated each time I play. Sometimes these one off sounds can actually work really well together.